Cook: Vegan No-Bake Pumpkin Spice Caramel Popcorn

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With the changing of the seasons, I've had a hankering for something caramel. Caramel apples, caramel popcorn, caramel caramel (you get the point). But all store bought caramel (at least locally) contains cow milk products.

So I did a little research and found a recipe I could make my own and make it milk free. Below is the result.

I only have two words of warning to keep in mind while making this.

1. After you've mixed the vanilla and baking soda, pour the entire contents on top of the popcorn in one sweep and start mixing quick so that you get an uniform coating before everything cools.
2. Once you have a bite, you might not stop. If you're planning on taking some to a party or making some as a gift, don't sample. :)

Cook: Superhero Cooking Oils Series, Canola Oil as Cyclops

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According to IGN, Cyclops has lost two wives, reunited with his space pirate father, discovered two lost brothers, fought beside both a son and daughter from alternate futures, and defended The Dream as a knight might protect the Holy Grail. Through all of this, he's still standing.  He's X-Men's golden boy and mutant in charge next to Professor X (source).

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I'd like to think of canola oil as Cyclops. No drama (or recipe) is too much for this singular vision. Just check out the specs below (everything is from wikipedia).

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Canola Oil

• Contains large amounts of monounsaturated fats, low amounts of saturated fats, and presence of Omega-3s (good for the heart, just like Mr. Univision).
• Includes anti-inflammatory properties (so you can stay svelte like Mr. Cool).
• Looks light and clear with relatively little flavor (ready for any action).
• Comes highly recommended for replacing extremely unhealthy solid fats like stick butter as well as slightly less healthy oils such as soy and peanut (can be substituted in equal amounts). Professor X can't make it? Send in Cyclops. Wolverine going crazy? Send in the Cyclops. So let it be with canola oil.
• Is created from cold-pressing the seeds of the rapeseed plant, which is a cousin to Brussels Sprouts and cabbage (mustard family). Canola oil, like Cyclops, comes from good stock.
• Works best at 375-450 degrees F, which is good for high heat recipes including sauces, and deserts, grilling, stir-fry, and coating pans. Canola oil is calm under pressure just like the man, the one and only Cyclops.
• Helps with leavening as well as tenderizing and moisturizing food (gentle and smooth).

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(Cyclops and canola oil have heart)

So don't be afraid to pull out the canola oil instead of corn or butter! Your body will thank you for it!

Cook: GF French Toast

After a much needed vacation away from the world of blogging, vlogging, and addictive Facebook posting, I'm ba-ack!

I've got some great ideas for some upcoming blogs and videos, included a continuation of my series on oils, sewing and woodworking DIYs, a music video about how much I'm glad that I'm no longer eating gluten and milk products, and new recipes! I'll also be re-designing my YouTube page since they've made some changes while I've been away.

Also I think I've found a great online organizer for my recipes that I'll be embedding into my blog. So you can either read my blog for recipes like the one below, or go directly to http://www.kitchenmonki.com/blogger/allergictosittingcom.1. So keep checking back each week!

Below is a recipe for GF French Toast. Did you know that French Toast was originally created in order to make stale bread more palatable? That's why dryer bread is best for making french toast. It'll soak up more of the milk and eggs.

Using dry GF bread is essential to this recipe because GF bread tends to be more on the dense and less absorbent side right out of the bag (or out of your bread maker). Try drying your bread in an uncovered container in the fridge or leave some slices out over night.

Vacation -- It's "Away From the Computer" Time

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In order to re-charge my creative juices, I'm going on a blog (and work) vacation until August. Unless I have a brilliant idea just pop up, I won't be blogging for a while. Have a great summer everyone and stay cool!

Exercise--Enchanted Run

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The Assessor and I were on a run the other night and we came up with an exciting idea! Sometime, before we're old and grey, we want to run the Enchanted Circle in New Mexico over a period of 5-6 days.

I've been talking fora while now about how I would love to run an ultra marathon (more than 26.2 miles). But then the Assessor and I watched this movie called Running the Sahara on Netflix.

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Okay, so those three people are nuts. The heat, the politics involved in moving through several countries, the running more than a marathon each day, and the drama between the runners and their team were all insane! But the idea of creating our own extreme long run in a place that's relatively cool and somewhere we love: we can't beat that!

According to the Running the Sahara dudes, they were running anywhere between 14-20 minute miles. That's totally doable, and it tells us that they had several walking breaks during their 4,620 mile journey.

For us, the idea would be that we would obviously do some distance training (running and hiking) in the mountains before we start the journey. Then, when we felt we were ready, we start in Angel Fire and run to Eagle Nest and then spend the night at a hotel. That's about 12 miles of running. And just in case I don't mention it, we'd stop in a hotel in each of these towns that I'm going to mention.

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The next day, we'd wake up and run from Eagle Nest to Red River and stay at another hotel. That's a distance of about 17 miles and it'd probably be the biggest climb of the trek.

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Then the next day we would travel from Red River to Questa (15 miles).

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We'd then go from Questa to Taos.

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Then Taos to Angel Fire would be the last leg of the trip, and also the longest (24 miles).

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Then we would collapse, preferably into our husky and border collies waiting at the finish line. :)

Obviously, we're not ready yet to do this run this summer. We need to prepare and there are a lot of things to consider like the following.

• Reservations: We'll need to reserve hotels and that would make our decision to run very concrete (no backing out).
• Time: We'd need to make sure that we could already run a good 6 miles before going up to the mountains, then we would need a least a month to prepare for the several day run. Maybe even more prep might be required.
• Babies: We want to have a baby or two, and this involves a bit too much extreme exercise for baby-making. Once, Lord willing, babies are had, that creates a bunch of other issues as well.
• Other Babies: We have two dogs that will need attention while we're gone during these days.
• Help on the Road: What if we run out of water or food, we need help checking into a hotel, we have medical issues, we need a little inspiration from a friendly face? We're going to need people to help. Maybe even some people might want to join us. :)
• Equipment: Clothes, shoes, etc.
• Injuries: We'd need to be relatively injury free (like my knee problems would need to go away or somehow be minimized).

So, thoughts? Interested in helping or joining? Have a better idea? The Assessor and I would love to hear it!

Cook - Superhero Cooking Oils Series, Corn Oil as Rougue

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Don't go away (or visit the loo)! This post is a continuation of my Superhero Cooking Oil series.  You can read my previous post on sunflower seed oil.

Corn Oil as Rogue

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Corn oil is extracted from the germ of the corn kernel much like Rogue was removed from her southern home by Mystique after Rogue discovered her powers.

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Rogue isn't always a goody two-shoes. She spent a lot of time with the criminal mutant, Mystique before she amended her ways and joined up with the X-men. Similarly, corn oil is also not the best of oils. It's slightly higher in saturated fats than canola and grape seed oil, but as a whole it's no where near as bad as butter, hydrogenated soybean oil, and coconut oil.

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Corn oil is high in polyunsaturated fats (which can reduce LDL and triglycerides 4x more than olive oil, but also decrease HDL as well). In fact it's mostly unsaturated fat and therefore awesome like Rogue and her superpowers (flying, power-absorbing, memory sucking, fire, etc).

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If you put Rogue under fire, she tends to get a bit testy, a little miffed. Corn oil is just the same, with a smoke point of 350-400, corn oil is best used for cooking at medium temperatures otherwise it can discolor and stink up your food.

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When Rogue gets tired in the fight against evil, she just saps someone's energy to replenish her superhero strength. While corn oil does take away your strength to grow it's own, the large amounts of vitamin E is great for increasing your immune system.

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Although Rogue is quite worldly because of her travels with the X-Men and her ability to fly around, she never looses her country accent. Corn oil hasn't lost it's hillbilly ways either. Corn oil is most commonly sold unrefined and, as a result, it has a little flavor and is yellow in color. Make sure it stays that way.

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If you know Rogue at all, you'll know that she's super powerful, but she has one down side. You don't want too much of Rogue or else she'll extract your life force and superpowers and leave you in a comma or leave you dead (if you touch her skin). Corn oil is rich in Omega 6  (a healthy fatty acid that we consume in unhealthy quantities) and has been associated with cancer in some studies. However, because corn oil is found in so many unhealthy foods (fried foods, chips, candy), it makes you wonder if it's our unhealthy use of corn oil and the high quantities of the stuff that's the problem.

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And lastly, even though she's a little rough around the edges, everyone likes a Rogue. She's witty, strong, and a definite feminist. Corn oil is also quite lovable; it's often in tasty salad dressings and delicious baked goods and it's very inexpensive

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For more information about corn oil, check out Wikipedia's article, or this, this, and this web site like I did.

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Cook: Peanut Butter Cups (Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Gluten-Free)

For years, I've had a hankerin' for some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups like when I was a kid! Sadly, I can't have them. They contain cow milk products. But I found a recipe online that's supposed to imitate the taste and I tried it out this weekend.

I made a few changes to the original recipe. First, I decreased the amount of peanut butter filling (the original recipe called for too much and we "had to" chow down on the extra because it wouldn't fit in the containers). I used semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate instead of milk chocolate. Finally, I didn't follow the instructions to add extra salt to the peanut butter (there's already salt in the all-natural peanut butter that we bought).

According to the Assessor, my recipe is a good match with the original in terms of taste. The chocolate was a bit harder than Reece's chocolate, but that's probably because it's not milk-chocolate. I might try to make my own goat milk chocolate some time and see if that doesn't help.

Before using my recipe, you might read the original because he gave a good explanation for why you should use high quality chocolate and peanut butter to make the recipe work.

Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cups

Theses are the brands I used.

Ingredients (as adjusted from the original)

• 12 paper muffin cups
• 1 12 oz package of milk-free chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
• 1/2 cup reduced fat all-natural smooth peanut butter
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

1) Cut the top half off of the paper muffin cups.

2) Heat up all the chocolate for 2 minutes at 50% power in a glass, microwave-safe bowl. Then take a teaspoon full and drop into each paper cup. Spread the chocolate up the sides of the cup.

3) Put in freezer or fridge until hardened.

4) Mix powdered sugar and peanut butter.

5) When the chocolate hardens, heat the bowl of peanut butter for 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave and place even amounts into each cup. Make sure to pat the peanut butter down so that the second chocolate layer will cover the top.

6) Let your helpers lick the peanut butter bowl while the half-finished cups are cooling in the fridge.

7) Once the peanut butter has cooled, spread the remaining chocolate over the top. If the bowl of chocolate has cooled and is stiff again, you can reheat it on 50% power in increments of 30 seconds.

8) Decorate your helpers with the muffin tops while the peanut butter cups are hardening in the fridge.

9) Enjoy!

It's so tasty! 

Also, check out the new pages I have tabbed at the top of my blog. I've got a Spotify account and a GoodReads account so you can keep up with the crazy stuff I've been listening to and reading about.

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